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We propose the electrified catalytic inductive heating system (ECIHS), which utilizes electromagnetic induction heating (IH) of a monolithic catalytic composite to induce direct and efficient heat transfer to the liquid-phase reaction environment. Herein, we demonstrated that the ECIHS could be utilized to extract hydrogen from liquid-phase perhydro-dibenzyltoluene (H18-DBT) within just 3.5 s, accounting for a 16.4-fold improvement in the reaction rate compared with conventional heating methods. This remarkable observation underscores the potential of the ECIHS for on-site hydrogen utilization, empowering various advanced applications such as hydrogen-powered vehicles. Furthermore, the capabilities of the ECIHS for efficient heat and mass transfer in the liquid phase are also translatable to a myriad of different chemical processing schemes with high industrial value. Overall, the ECIHS represents a major breakthrough in the development of sustainable chemical processing methods, further propelling efforts to achieve full decarbonization in the global chemical processing industry.

While interface engineering of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) for defect passivation and band alignment optimization has contributed to recent breakthroughs in the efficiency and stability of PSCs, consideration of the mechanical reliability of the heterointerface has been relatively overlooked. Published in Science, the study by Duan et al.¹ proposes that chiral-structured heterointerfaces are mechanically more durable compared to the widely used non-chiral heterointerfaces in PSCs.

Layered materials exhibit potential for thermoelectric applications, which are reliant on microstructural texture for high performance. In this work, we present layered crystal stacking hot deformation (LCSHD), which leverages anisotropic crystal structures to induce rapid texture formation, leading to high thermoelectric performance. Taking n-type bismuth telluride (Bi₂Te₃) as a representative, the LCSHD method contributed to a record-high power factor (PF) of 45 μW cm⁻¹ K⁻² in polycrystals. Additionally, the dislocation tangle and low-angle grain boundary can be found in the LCSHD sample, producing low lattice thermal conductivity and a remarkable ZT value of 1.2. Benefiting from a reliable high ZT, we prepared a seven-pair Bi₂Te₃-based module, which displayed an extraordinary conversion efficiency of 6.4% and competitive refrigeration performance. In addition, a significant improvement of ZT value in other layered materials, including SnSe₂ and SnSe, was also demonstrated. Our finding offers novel avenues for texture engineering, facilitating the design of high-performance layered thermoelectric materials.

The quest for high-performance lithium-ion batteries has led to extensive research on developing the advanced cathodes. A recent report in Nature by Wang et al. presents a strategy of integrating chemical short-range disorder into the bulk structure of layered oxide cathodes, which significantly enhances their durability and rate capability due to the subtle tuning of spin-electron interactions of transition metal ions.

Low-band-gap tin (Sn)-lead (Pb) perovskites are a critical component in all-perovskite tandem solar cells (APTSCs). Current state-of-the-art Sn-Pb perovskite devices exclusively use poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) as the hole-transport layer (HTL) but suffer from undesired buried-interface degradation. Here, we show that the deprotonation of the –SO₃H group in PSS is the root cause of the interface degradation due to its low acid dissociation constant (pK_a), leading to acidic erosion and iodine volatilization in Sn-Pb perovskites. We identify that HTL featuring the carboxyl (–COOH) group with a higher pK_a, such as poly[3-(4-carboxybutyl)thiophene-2,5-diyl] (P3CT), can suppress deprotonation and strengthen the interface, mitigating the buried-interface degradation. Motivated by established P3CT modification, we introduce Pb doping to P3CT to increase its work function and reduce interfacial energy loss. We fabricate APTSCs with a champion efficiency of 27.8% and an operational lifetime of over 1,000 h, with 97% retaining efficiency under maximum power point tracking.

All-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs) have seen rapid progress enabled by the development of high-performance polymer acceptors. Most polymer acceptors are based on the monomers of a classic small molecular acceptor (SMA) named Y6 by polymerizing at the position of the end groups, forming an “end-to-end” linkage. In this work, we report a completely different “core-to-core” linking mode by polymerizing the Y-series monomers at the central core position instead. This innovative strategy results in a drastically altered molecular configuration that resembles a “double decker,” with intramolecular packing between different monomer units in the same polymer. The overall molecular packing is improved, benefiting charge delocalization and charge transport. As a result, the PffBQx-T-based ternary blend achieved an outstanding efficiency of 18.7%, attributed to the enhanced absorption response, improved packing, and efficient charge dynamics. Our work demonstrates a novel polymer design rationale that serves as a promising avenue toward highly efficient and stable all-PSCs.

In this work, we reveal the role of non-covalent interactions, which are known to play important roles in supramolecular phenomena, in achieving efficient perovskite surface and grain boundary passivation. By using a series of pseudohalides, we find that trifluoroacetate (TFA⁻) provides the strongest binding to iodide vacancies by means of non-covalent hydrogen bonding and dispersion interactions. By exploiting additional non-covalent dispersion and hydrophobic interactions in aromatic 3,3-diphenylpropylammonium (DPA⁺), we present a dual-ion passivation strategy that not only minimizes the non-radiative recombination center and local chemical inhomogeneities but also induces preferentially oriented growth of α-FAPbI₃ lattice. This leads to an outstanding power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 25.63% with an exceptional open-circuit voltage of 1.191 V in a perovskite solar cell with a small area, while perovskite solar mini modules with aperture areas of 25 and 64 cm² achieved PCE of 22.47% (quasi-steady-state [QSS]-certified 20.50%) and 20.88%, respectively, with outstanding stability under high-humidity conditions.

Proton-exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs) are a promising technology for green hydrogen production; however, interfacial transport behaviors are poorly understood, hindering device performance and longevity. Here, we first utilized finite-gap electrolyzer to demonstrate the possibility of proton transfer through water in PEMWEs. The measured high-frequency resistances (HFRs) exhibit a linear trend with increasing gap distance, where extrapolation shows a lower value compared with HFRs in regular zero-gap electrolyzers, indicating that ohmic resistance could be further reduced. We introduce nanochannels to facilitate mass transport, as evidenced by both liquid-fed and vapor-fed electrolysis. Nanochannel electrodes achieve a voltage reduction of 190 mV at 9 A·cm⁻² compared with the Ir-PTEs without nanochannels. Furthermore, nanochannel electrodes show negligible degradation through 100,000 accelerated-stress tests and over 2,000 h of operation at 1.8 A·cm⁻² with a decay rate of 11.66 μV·h⁻¹. These results provide new insights into localized transport dynamics for PEMWEs and highlight the significance of interfacial engineering for electrochemical devices.

Ultranarrow-band-gap organic semiconductors with fully non-fused conjugated structures display great potential for low-cost organic photoelectric devices. Here, we developed two fully non-fused acceptors, namely, A4T-7 and A4T-12, by introducing different alkoxyl side chains on the π-bridges of the non-fused acceptors. The resulting materials demonstrate ultranarrow optical band gaps of 1.15 and 1.21 eV, respectively. Compared with other ultranarrow-band-gap acceptors constructed with fully fused-ring or partially fused-ring structures, the synthetic complexity of the two acceptors is significantly reduced. Specifically, A4T-7, with symmetric alkoxy chains on the π-bridge, exhibits a more planar molecular configuration compared with A4T-12. Notably, the organic photovoltaic cells based on A4T-7 show a power conversion efficiency of 13.3%. Moreover, cells fabricated with a highly transparent active layer, characterized by an average visible transmittance value of approximately 62.7%, achieve an efficiency of 10.7%. These results represent the highest reported efficiencies for cells utilizing fully non-fused acceptors with ultranarrow band gaps.

High-quality phase-pure formamidinium lead triiodide (FAPbI₃) perovskite film needs to be fabricated under strict control of the surrounding atmosphere, which becomes more rigorous when large-area FAPbI₃ film is involved, leading to high-performance FAPbI₃ perovskite solar cells and modules predominantly carried out in an inert gas-filled atmosphere. In this work, we propose a scalable printing strategy for the large-area high-quality phase-pure FAPbI₃ film under a high-humidity atmosphere (up to 75% ± 5% relative humidity) by regulating the perovskite precursor ink with a functional perfluoroalkylsulfonyl quaternary ammonium iodide. This approach decreases the energy barriers of cubic phase formation and heterogeneous nucleation, thereby regulating the FAPbI₃ crystallization. The printed photovoltaic small-area cells and large-area modules achieved remarkable power conversion efficiencies of 24.37% and 22.00%, respectively. Specifically, the unencapsulated device exhibits superior operational stability with T₉₀ > 1,060 h, ambient stability with T₉₀ > 2,020 h, and thermal stability with T₉₀ > 2,350 h.